Transfer of property to cost more; fair value of reclassified land also to go high 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Government proposal to immediately increase the fair value of land classified as drylands. The fair value of the dryland adjacent to the reclassified property will be determined.

It was decided to apply the fair value of original drylands to these reclassified properties in the context of receiving lakhs of applications for conversion of wetlands as drylands, and the approved ones being sold at low appraisal prices. A huge amount will come to the government as stamp duty and registration fees this way.

Stamp duty is eight percent of the fair value and registration fee is two percent. As the reclassified land is recorded at the assessed value, the stamp duty payable to the government is reduced. At the same time, the market price and value would have gone up with the conversion into dryland. RDOs are the ones authorized to determine the fair value of the land.

With permission to reclassify land that is not included in the data bank, a large number of reclassification applications were received. About two and a half lakh paper applications were processed by the revenue department using temporary staff. Applications for conversion were accepted through online mode from January 1, 2022. Till May 30, 2023, about two and a half lakh applications have been received online. This too will be resolved quickly.

Fair value criteria

• Dryland and Wetland will be differentiated.
• Proximity to roads (National Highway, State Highway, Public Works, Panchayat, Municipal).
• Economic status of the area (city, town, village)
• Market price